Chief Leader – September 30, 2014
by SARAH DORSEY
For those who worked, volunteered or lived near the World Trade Center in the months after Sept. 11 and later developed cancer, registering with the Federal Government may be the furthest thing from their minds.
But for potentially thousands of them, their last opportunity to do so is coming on Oct. 12, and with it, their last chance to qualify for free medical treatment and economic aid under the Zadroga Act.
‘Just Get Online’
“You just have to register. You can do it online; they just need your date of birth, your Social Security number if you have one and mailing address. You don’t need a lawyer. Just get online at VCF.org,” said Michael Barasch, an attorney whose firm represents thousands of people with 9/11-related cancers (those without Social Security numbers are eligible.)
A week from Sunday is the last day for people whose cancer diagnosis came more than two years ago to register with the Victim Compensation Fund, which provides economic aid for people who incur medical costs or lose work due to their illness. The fund also compensates the families of those who die.
Those whose cancer was diagnosed more recently—or who become sick in the future—have two years after their date of diagnosis to register.
The process is quick; patients don’t need to notarize any forms or upload any separate documentation in order to register. They never have to file a claim if they later decide not to. It simply gives them the right to seek benefits later. (To receive an award, they’ll have to provide proof of their diagnosis and their presence near the Trade Center along with a formal claim, but that can be submitted as late as October 2016.)
30,000+ Now Eligible
More than 30,000 people are currently being monitored and are receiving free medical care through the World Trade Center Health Program, and more than 2,900 so far have cancers certified to be Sept. 11-related. Advocates fear that many more will fall sick, especially since some types of cancer have long latency periods—some can even take decades to materialize.
After years of activism by labor groups and victim advocates, the first cancers were added to the list of illnesses covered under the Zadroga Act in September 2012. Since then, more joined the list: prostate cancer in September 2013; and pancreatic, testicular and certain types of brain and cervical cancers in February. Sixty-seven types are now covered.
Mr. Barasch noted that the VCF can help people who might not even think of themselves as Sept. 11 victims. Hundreds of family members of those who died in the collapse stood near the Pile for days holding up pictures of their loved ones. Those who later got sick may be eligible for Federal assistance.
Limits on Claims
Anyone can register, but currently, there are limits as to which claims will be approved. Blood cancers, such as leukemia and multiple myeloma, must have been detected at least a year after Sept. 11, and other types of tumors must have been detected after Sept. 11, 2005. The idea is to weed out those that occurred too soon to be related.
But Mr. Barasch said that in the future, those limits could be relaxed, particularly for certain types of cancer that he and other 9/11 attorneys have noticed cropping up early in unusually large numbers. Since the intensity of the toxins that filled the air on Sept. 11 was unprecedented, scientists are still studying how they affected the body. In any case, there is no penalty for registering, Mr. Barasch noted. The worst that can happen is that your claim is eventually denied.
So far, the VCF has awarded nearly $500 million to 1,843 people, including $74 million for 159 claimants with cancer. A total of $4.3 billion is currently available, though New York’s Congressional delegation has recently submitted a bill to expand and extend the fund, and the medical treatment program, until 2041.
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